Trilobites might have invented farming

A close look at trilobite fossils suggests that a type called olenid trilobites farmed bacteria, says a London researcher.

These extinct arthropods plied the oceans some 505 million to 445 million years ago, explains Richard Fortey of the Natural History Museum. In the June 6 Proceedings of the National Academy Of Sciences, he proposes that the animals survived on the ocean floor thanks to bacteria that can use sulfur for energy.